


It Starts with a Scrunchie

by Glitter_Bug



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Fluff, Joyce sees all and kinda knows all (eventually), M/M, POV Joyce Byers, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:14:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27724672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glitter_Bug/pseuds/Glitter_Bug
Summary: 'It's only as Billy's walking out of the door that Joyce realises Billy is wearing the exact same scrunchie that Steve bought the other day.She'll get Donald to order more of that style.Must be a fashion thing.'A little glimpse into Billy and Steve's relationship through Joyce's eyes.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 23
Kudos: 234





	It Starts with a Scrunchie

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this on Tumblr and felt kinda proud of it, so I'm putting it up here too with a few tweaks.

Joyce watches Steve with a smile on her face.

He’s been standing in the beauty aisle for a while, eyes locked on a display of scrunchies. Every so often he'll pick one up and give it a feel, rub the material between his fingers or twist it around to see how the sparkles catch the light. Then he puts it back. Repeats the action with a different one. Over and over.

It's clearly an important decision.

Joyce figures he's got himself a girlfriend.

She hopes so. 

She's proud of him, in a way, for how much he's grown. How much he's changed. How he apologised and made things right. The way he jumped headfirst into danger to protect everyone. 

_Good for him,_ she thinks _, he deserves some happiness._

***

Joyce watches Billy from the corner of her eye. Doesn’t want to spook him. 

She doesn't think he's there to cause trouble but, even with the biggest benefit of the doubt, he is acting strangely.

He's done a circuit of the shop at least five times now, doubling back on himself every so often to stand in front of the little shelf of Valentine's Day cards. He does the same thing each time he gets there, Joyce notes, watching as he reaches out towards the cards and then pulls his arm back immediately as if he's been burnt, running a hand through his hair or jamming it into his pocket before doing yet another lap of the store.

She'd never taken him for the nervous type. 

_This one must be special._

He makes a choice in the end and drops the card on the counter with a shaking hand, half hidden between the pages of a car magazine. Joyce stifles a laugh as she scans it through. It's a jokey one, a terrible pun and two cartoon robots, definitely nothing too soppy or romantic. She can't imagine any girl being overly thrilled about his choice of card, but she figures that Billy's other qualities will more than make up for it. 

She tells Billy his total, and the sleeve of his jacket slips back a little as he reaches out to pass over the money. Joyce gets a glimpse of a red and gold scrunchie wrapped around his wrist, glinting in the store's lights. She smiles to herself, a little rush of nostalgia at the memories of some of the men she used to date, the ones who'd steal her hair ties and scarves to wrap up their flowing tresses, hair sometimes even longer than hers.

Funny how things come back around.

It's only as Billy's walking out of the door that Joyce realises Billy is wearing the exact same scrunchie that Steve bought the other day.

She'll get Donald to order more of that style.

_Must be a fashion thing._

***

It all comes together one night when Joyce is working the late shift.

She's out around the side of the store, taking advantage of the late hour and the hidden corner between the bins to sneak a quick cigarette before she heads home, when she hears the whispers, the hushed laughs. Male voices.

And Joyce isn't stupid. Hawkins might be a sleepy town but the Upside Down doesn't have the monopoly on monsters and she's a lone woman, out late. 

She stubs the cigarette out quickly and steps back fully into the shadows, reaching into her pockets and slipping the store keys in between her fingers. She eyes the distance to the phone booth. 

"We've gotta be careful,"

She breathes a sigh of relief. Because she knows that voice.

It comes again. Slightly muffled.

"Someone's gonna see,”

Steve. Just Steve. 

"No one here, baby, just you and me." 

She knows that one too. 

Billy. With Steve.

She moves out of the shadows a little, enough to see them standing close together, toe to toe. Steve with his back against the wall. Billy with his face tilted up. Their arms around each other. Their lips pressed together

She freezes when she realises what's happening.

Billy. _With_ Steve. 

_Together._

She tries not to watch, her gaze fixed to the floor, trying desperately to give them some privacy, but she can't help but hear some of the words that carry on the wind. The pet names gasped out with so much fondness. She glances up just once to see Steve tenderly tucking a curl of hair behind Billy's ear and, even in the gloom of the night, Joyce can tell there’s love in his eyes. 

And now she knows, she can’t help but spot the clues everywhere.

She spots Billy's necklace hanging around Steve's neck, moments before he tucks it back underneath his polo.

She recognises the cashmere sweater that Billy has slung over one shoulder. 

She sees the blue Camaro whenever she’s driving around Loch Nora. It’s never parked outside the Harrington's house, but it’s always somewhere close.

She listens in as Steve and Billy shop for groceries, and overhears the way they talk to each other- gentle ribbing and the kind of in-jokes that come with time. She hears the way they're making plans for their time together, for cooking meals together, for spending nights together. 

A few days later, Joyce is smiling fondly as she looks at the heart-shaped box of chocolates that Steve places by the register. She can't help the question that slips out, 

"These for someone special?"

Steve blushes, playing with his hair as she bags them, "Yeah, yeah, kinda. I think, I hope, uh, I hope they like them."

"I'm sure he will," Joyce smiles, handing over Steve's change.

Steve fumbles the coins and they drop to the counter with a clatter, his face a picture of shock, mouth hanging wide.

He fakes a laugh as he scrambles to pick up the money, but Joyce can see the rush of panic in his eyes.

"I...I...I don't...you-"

Joyce taps her nose, "I'm not going to tell anyone, honey, just be a bit more careful in the alley." She places a hand over his, gives a gentle squeeze, "And it's a good idea. Billy deserves a bit of spoiling."

Steve slumps then, a hand running through his hair.

"They, uh, he probably doesn't do Valentine's," Steve says, voice low, "but I really wanted to get him something. And everyone likes chocolate, right?"

"Pretty sure they do," she smiles at him.

Joyce can’t stop herself from beaming when, a few hours later, Billy comes in and picks up the exact same box of chocolates.


End file.
